Monday, August 4, 2014

Cap Gun Monday: MARX THUNDERGUN

Marx didn't make a heck of a lot of cap guns, and most of those were about 90% plastic, making them fragile, insubstantial and unrealistic. So, as a gun-toting kid, they didn't impress me much. The Thundergun, marketed in the late '50s, is the most notable exception to that rule. At just over 12 inches, it stacks up against most of the big guns made by Hubley and Nichols, and it's heavy enough to provide the illusion of the real thing.

The gun below, you'll note, has brown-swirled plastic grips, while the one in the box (which has never been out of the box) has this great bronc-riding cowboy. Was the cowboy design repeated on the other side? It just occurred to me that I don't know. Now I'm tempted to peek.

Both of my guns have a rough metal finish. Thunderguns were also issued with a more traditional nickel finish (wish I had one) and in black.

What made this a "TV Special"? Beats me.

The Thundergun's "Thundercaps," as you'll see below, had two rows of powder, producing a bigger bang and more smoke than normal single-row caps. They probably caused twice as much corrosion too. Luckily for me, the original owners of these two didn't use any kind of caps.

AHMM July/Aug 2016

AHMM May 2015

A Black Dog Book

Your Editor

When not blogging, I write mysteries and historical adventure. I am the proud (and mighty dang lucky) recipient of the Mystery Writers of America 2011 Robert L. Fish Award. My AHMM story "The Continental Opposite" was nominated for a Shamus award and selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2016.